This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish continue The Workplace Movie Hall of Fame series with a look at the big HR and workplace themes in the 1983 hit "Flashdance".

Flashdance was released in 1983 and starred Jennifer Beals as Alex and Michael Nouri as the boss. Alex is a female dynamo: steel worker by day, exotic dancer by night. Her dream is to get into a real dance company, though, and with encouragement from her boss/boyfriend, she may get her chance

Flashdance was also the 3rd highest grossing film in the US in 1983 - $92.9M.

The film has several big HR and workplace themes running though it - some seriously hostile and harassing work environments for women, a probably inappropriate, (and definitely creepy) romance between the boss and one of his very young employees, how leaders do or do not support employee's dreams and career goals, and the importance of having a more expansive and inclusive idea of talent and potential.

We dug into how these themes are portrayed in the movie, how they inform how we think about work and workplaces today, and what we can learn from looking back at some really different norms in workplaces in 1983.

Steve and Trish also talked about the importance of leadership, kindness in the workplace, and even if it is ever appropriate to kiss and/or hug at work.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or using the widget player below:

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve was live at the OC Tanner Influence Greatness Conference with guest David Sturt who talked about how companies can intentionally shape and improve company culture. David shared insights from OC Tanner research on company culture, the key facets or elements that tend to describe, drive, and influence culture, and how organizations and leaders can leverage these insights into practical and actionable changes to improve their own cultures.

We also talked a little about how cultures are formed, Steve shoehorned in his favorite Rock-Paper-Scissors analogy, and David shared news of the annoucement of a new partnership between OC Tanner and HR Happy Hour Show sponsor Virgin Pulse, which was really exciting for us at the HR Happy Hour Show.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE or by using the widget player below:

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish review Mary Meeker from Kleiner Perkins influential Internet Trends Report for 2017 and discuss what some of these big trends in technology mean for HR and HR Technology. Ms. Meeker's report is an annual 'must-read' for any organizational leader and always offers some enlightening insights into the important global technology trends.

In the show, Steve and Trish break down a few of the big trends, (mobile technology adoption and usage, 'voice' interfaces and devices like Amazon Echo, and the continued rise of all types of gaming), and offer some ideas and recommendations for HR and HR tech leaders on how to translate these trends into actions and strategies.

Additionally, we talked about the recent Amazon Jobs Day, and what their plans to hire 50,000 new employees in one day say about work, workplaces, and changing employee expectations of work.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below:

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve is joined by Matt 'akaBruno' Stollak to talk about the connections between HR, talent management, careers, the workplace and sports, through the lens of the NBA Summer League 2017.

Matt and Steve are charter members of 'The 8 Man Rotation' and co-authors of a series of E-books that take a deep dive into the lessons that HR and business leaders can take from pro, college, and truly all levels of sports.

On this show, Matt and Steve examine hiring biases, the importance of leadership setting an example and tone for the organization, (especially important for new leaders), and how sports and the Summer League in particular are a great metaphor and example for the 'always on' and 'always auditioning' tendencies of the growing gig economy.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below:

This was a really fun show, we hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to HR Happy Hour show sponsor Virgin Pulse - learn more about them at www.virginpulse.com.

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish recorded live from Inforum 2017 in New York City and talked about some of the big announcements and innovations in HR Tech that were discussed at the event. Inforum HCM continues to innovate in HR Tech - from Artificial Intelligence, advanced analytics, and importantly - user experience design.

On the show Trish shared some of the details of these innovations, and we discussed the importance of design and user experience in HR Tech, and what HR leaders should look for and think about when assessing potential solutions.

Steve also put Trish on the spot by asking her to write a letter to her former HR leader self, offering advice as to what to think about when thinking about HR Tech. You definitely want to check out her answer.

Additionally, Steve theorized on how, where, and why the old 'Big ERP' approach to HR and HR tech went wrong.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below (email and RSS subscribers click through)

This was a fun show, many thanks to the folks at Infor for having the HR Happy Hour Show at Inforum 2017.

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts.